


Casualties of War

by MarbleAide



Category: Avengers (Comics), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Gen, Kidnapping, sort of good Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-04
Updated: 2013-07-04
Packaged: 2017-12-17 15:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarbleAide/pseuds/MarbleAide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki will never hurt a child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casualties of War

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually..really proud of this story. I've been working on it all day, and I can really say I like it. So, I hope you all do to! All mistakes, as always, are mine and mine alone. Also in response to [this prompt](http://norsekink.livejournal.com/3415.html?thread=8001879#t8001879) over on the kink meme.
> 
>  
> 
> In this, I pictured Rebecca being 8 and Edward being 5, just saying...

Tony Stark was never a fan of children. Even as a child himself he found others to be rather annoying. He did not like to play on the playground or eat at crowded lunch room tables. Children always asked too many questions and, for some ungodly reason, their hands were always sticky. Always. Especially when they were around very expansive, very sensitive, equipment. But just because Tony did not like children did not mean he disliked his own kids. Because, _yes_ , he had them.

After so many years of being the most eligible bachelor in the US and sleeping around like he did, Tony was bound to mess up somewhere. No matter how many precautions he took, sometimes there were nights when he was simply too drunk and the condoms in his nightstand were too far away.

And, just because he could classify both his children as ‘accidents’ (something he would never actually tell them) he still loved them. He was their dad, and they were his kids, so yeah, he loved them. That was never even a question in the matter.

The matter at hand being, when their mother (because Tony would have kids on accident, but the hell if he would marry a bitch on purpose) took him to court for custody reasons, was his choice in…extracurricular activates. Because, okay sure, he understood the general concern when it came to a father being one of the world’s most popular and well-known superheroes, both to the public and to villains alike. Even so, they were still his kids and he deserved to see them at least a little bit. The case went on for over a year (and when the trial first started, there was only one child involved. Then, one night he was drunk again and the ‘bitch’ in question was too and, damn, why was she so fucking fertile?) and, by the end of it, the judge had agreed to let Tony see his children a total of seven days out of the year. One week.

Tony was ready to argue back, to have another trail, bribe the judge or something—but Pepper gave him that look, and with a heavy sigh he had agreed. Jarvis was the one to calculate what days out of the year Tony got to see his kids, statistically picking out the seven safest days in the year, the ones where nothing above average crime really happened and the least likely to have super villains plotting away. Those days were kept totally secret and changed every single year, with only Tony, Pepper, Jarvis, and the bitch mother knowing about them.

For five years, this system had worked. Tony got to see his kids for seven day out of the year. He took those days off of work, spoiled them rotten, and tried to act like actually having kids didn’t freak him out. In reality, it scared the shit out of him. Sure, he wanted to see them, wanted to somehow be a part of their lives unlike his own father, but it was still so risky, because if anything happened to them Tony would never forgive himself.

So, on one of the nights when they were visiting and Tony had to run over to his office really quick to deal with some contracting issue ( _“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in an hour tops, than we can go out to eat anywhere you like.”_ ) he had left them at the Avengers Mansion in the care of Clint. He had only just gotten to his office when the alarm on his communicator sounded, a second after that he asked Jarvis what was wrong and got no answer. It took Tony two minutes to get back to the Mansion, but he was two minutes too late.

Thor, Steve, and Natasha were already there when he got back. Clint was out cold.

“Jarvis! JARIVS! Report!” He called out frantically as he rebooted the house’s systems and Jarvis came back. His entire body was shaking, because they were nowhere to be found. “JARVIS!” He screamed, trying his best to keep tears at bay. Trying his best to not blow anything up or fall to the ground. “Where are my kids?”

“Report, at 7:12pm Rebecca and Edward Stark were abducted by the terrorist organization known as Hydra.”

Tony screamed.

His children were gone.

\---

It was a fairly boring and uneventful Tuesday night. Sometimes, Loki simply liked it that way. There was no stress of having to plot this or that. No worry about having any of the Avengers pop up and try to stop him from doing something particularly foul. Messing with the same old heroes got boring every once in a while, so whenever Loki found himself with a quiet night like this, he very much enjoyed taking his wicked little trickster ways out on some of his own. He found himself laughing as Doom finally got fed up with him turning every little object in his castle into bright, yellow, rubber ducks and threw one of them at his head. Loki vanished before it got close enough to hit, moving on to his next ‘victim’ of the night.

Hydra was always a fun organization to annoy. They were always so very uptight and simply needed a good laugh—well, a laugh _at_. As he appeared within the compound that Hydra claimed was just so very _secret_ , Loki’s smile faltered on his face as he was met with the sound of a harsh slap and a quickly gasp of pain.

Loki removed himself from the shadows, moving swiftly out into the open where he saw Strucker standing over two tiny forms bound on the ground.

“Whatever are you doing, dear Baron?” Loki asked, announcing his presence. A smile quirked up at his lips as he heard the foot soldiers surrounding the area all cock their guns and point them at him. It seemed they were getting slow.

The Baron rose to his full height, pressing down a few wrinkles in his uniform before turning towards Loki. Once more, the amusement on Loki’s face fell as he saw who the bound forms on the floor were. Children. Two of them, a boy and girl who looked fairly similar—siblings, no doubt, though the girl did look a few years older. And, for some reason, Loki swore he had seen their faces before.

The Baron growled. “I might ask you the same thing, Loki.”

Loki almost didn’t hear the Baron, his attention draw to the two children. The boy looked terrified and kept struggling with the tight cuffs holding his hands behind his back, making them rub raw. The girl looked a little more level headed and stubborn, but Loki could still see the tear tracks on her face and the new tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. One side of her face was blossoming a bright red, in areas Loki could even see dark blues and blacks appearing. Baron had clearly hit her—hard. Which Loki did not like in the least.

“Who are these children?” He finally asked, all thoughts of playing around with the Hydra agents flying out the window.

Strucker paused for a moment, and then glared. “What does it matter to you?”

“It…” He was still staring at the children. The girl was staring back at him with her sharp blue eyes. Loki tore his gaze away. “…does not. I was simply wondering who’s children these were?”

The Baron was still tense and agitated, hating the fact that Loki was in his presence, but he suddenly relaxed. A smirk formed on his features, which made Loki’s own frown grow. Strucker always loved to gloat.

“Fine than, Trickster,” Strucker snickered, “They belong to Tony Stark.”

Loki’s eyes went wide. That is why they looked so familiar. He already knew those eyes.

Suddenly, something in Loki snapped.

“You took them?” Loki said, his voice was even and calm, almost too quiet for comfort. His fist curled by his side.

Baron was still smiling, unaware of Loki’s knew demeanor. “Of course. Do you truly think Stark would have simply given them to me?”

Loki made no move. He just stood there, staring down at the girl with her bruising face and reddened eyes. He brother cried silently.

“You stole them?” Loki’s voice was merely a whisper now.

Behind his eyes, he could see his own children being gathered up and cast out. He could still hear his own pleads as his babes were snatched from his grip. As they were thrown down, bound, and torn apart. His children. His—

“I already—“

The Baron’s voice was cut off as Loki appeared in front of him, grasping his neck and squeezing until nails broke skin and fingers cut off air. The man gasped, eyes going wide as he struggled, suddenly finding his feet off the floor, dangling now in Loki’s grip as he moved him higher.

“You stole them?” Loki repeated. His voice was stronger now, louder, filled with a sudden rage and sadness that consumed his very being.

He heard the sounds of the guns as they fired, but Loki quickly waved his free hand, dismissing the bullets and turning all the guns into snakes. He heard the soldiers scream as the serpents lashed out and hissed, just like his own son did when Thor—

“You act like these children do not matter.” Loki hissed, green eyes bright and dangerous. “You act like they are simply a casualty of war. A bargaining system. A way to seek revenge.” With every word spoken, Loki’s hand tightened around the Baron’s throat, crushing his windpipe as little droplets of blood streaked his neck, smearing against Loki’s fingers. And with all his strength and power, the Baron could not break free. He choked and gasped and clawed at Loki’s hand, desperate to break his hold, but found no release. And Loki loved it, how wonderful the look of fear was in his eyes. How simply terrified he was at that moment, just like he had done to these children.

Loki smiled. “I shall tell you this once, and only once, dear Baron.” He brought Strucker down to his level, his lips ever so slightly brushing against the man’s ear. “If I ever find you have taken any child from their rightful mother or father again, I shall kill you.”

Loki smiled as he pulled the Baron away and dropped him on the floor. Before Strucker could do anything else but wheeze for breathe, Loki waved his blood-streaked hand and made everyone in the compound excluding him and the two children disappear.

\---

“Come here.”

When they were alone and Loki knew they were safe, he moved closer to the children, kneeling down on the floor and with a mutter of magic words, unlocked their chains. The two immediately huddled together, shaking and scared. The little girl put herself in front of her brother, arms wrapped protectively around him as she glared up at Loki, trying to act brave.

“I will not hurt you, I promise.” He said, though made no move to go any further, as he did not want to scare the sibling more than they already were.

“N-no!” The girl said, as loud and forceful as she could, though her voice still cracked in the middle. “Our—our father is Ironman!”

This made Loki smile. “I am well aware.”

The girl paused, totally taken back by this statement. Clearly she was not used to having someone take this news so lightly. It took her a second to recalculate what her next words should be. Loki noticed that it was the same expression Tony Stark made when he was over thinking fighting strategies.

“He told us to never trust anyone in a costume.” She finally said, a smile pressing gently on her face at how proud she was for remembering the fact.

Loki could only laugh. “Well then,” His hand brushed over his chest, changing his usual attire into a casual Migardian outfit of slacks and a dark green button-down. “It is a good thing I’m not wearing a costume, isn’t it?”

He heard a surprised little ‘wow’ come from the boy, who was not shaking anymore and trying to get out from behind his sister.

“You’re—“

His sister was protesting at him, but it was no use. He broke free from her grasp, pushing a little bit closer to the god with an expression of complete awe on his face. “You’re Loki? He said—that man—he called you Loki! Daddy told us about you!”

Loki smiled softly at the boy’s excitement. “Oh? And what did he tell you about me?”

“He said, uh, he said that—that you were bad. And mean!”

“Eddy, he’s evil!” His sister hissed, trying to pull him back, but he slipped through her grasp.

“But, he saved us!” ‘Eddy’ protested.

“Is your name ‘Eddy’?” Loki asked, getting even lower so he could look the boy directly in the eyes. His eyes weren’t as blue as his sister’s, mixed slightly with hints of green around the pupils, though they still held the same spark he always saw in Stark’s eyes.

“Yes—I—“ He paused, fumbling with his words. Loki watched as he tried to reason with himself, probably debating on whether to trust him or not. He was still technically a ‘stranger’ after all. And his sister was not wrong in calling him ‘evil’, but Loki had no intentions of harming them. He would never harm children. “I-I’m Edward.” He finally spoke up; his voice was a little stronger now; braver. “And this is my sister, Raw—becca.”

“Edward and Rebecca?” Loki said, confirming, and the boy—Edward—nodded, even as his sister still talked about not talking to ‘bad guys’ behind him. “Well, I think those are wonderful names.” He said with a wider smile, trying to make it look as friendly as possible. He glanced down at Edward’s hand, which he was holding tightly to his body. His wrists were still red and raw, the skin having been peeled away in some sections. The smile felt slightly. “Do your wrists hurt?” He asked softly.

Edward, though hesitating at first, nodded slowly.

“May I see them?”

Again there was a hesitant moment where Edward pulled his hands closer to his chest, wincing slightly as the injuries touched the course fabric of his t-shirt. He looked back at his sister for some sort of support, but she said nothing. He looked back up at Loki with big eyes and, slowly, gave him his hands.

“I promise, this won’t hurt…” He said, taking the wrists gently in his hands and said a few healing spells under his breath, sending over small waves of magic to the damaged wrists. Edward watched in shock as the sparks of magic knitted the broken skin back together, taking away all the soreness and aches he felt there until even the red skin vanished back to his normal skin tone.

“That was—that was amazing!” He said, staring at his once injured wrists. He turned them over and over, amazed before looking back up at Loki with a big grin on his face. “Thank you!”

Loki only smiled, holding back the impulse to ruffle the boy’s dark hair. He turned his head, attention now focusing on his sister Rebecca. The side of her face that Strucker had struck was looking worse. He could clearly see the dark spots where knuckles met skin, the edge of her eye already a dark black and blue. “If you’d like, I can heal you as well?”

She scoffed, pouting and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “Dad says magic is stupid.” She grumbled out, and Loki had to hold back a sharp snicker of laughter. This girl really was Stark’s daughter.

“Please,” He said, reaching his hand out to her bruised cheek, gently pressing a palm to the damaged skin when she didn’t move away or making any means to protest. She only winced away from the touch, but came back slowly at the feeling of his cold fingers, relaxing as he too said his spell and the magic worked away bruises and damaged blood vessels. He felt her shutter as the magic fell away, leaving her looking like she normally would; a simple little girl with blue eyes and dark hair.

“Thank you…I…guess…” She muttered out all tight-lips and stubborn. Just like her father.

“M-Mr. Loki?” Edward spoke up, now playing with the hem of his t-shirt shyly. Loki was fairly amused to find it had the face of his brother on it, carrying his hammer proudly. “W-will you t-take us home?”

“I’ve got a better idea!” Loki said happily, clapping his hands together. For a second, both children fell back, the same fear as before falling across their faces. “How about we go get some ice cream?” That fear instantly came away, being replaced by something that Loki could only describe as pure joy. He was happy to say even Rebecca didn’t protest.

He smiled, standing up and took both their hands in his, vanishing from the Hydra compound and the fear it once held.

\---

Tony was down in his workshop. Everything around him was broken, blasted, or destroyed in some way. He sat in the only remaining up-right chair. Some of his armor was scattered around, having been torn from his body in anger and desperation. He held his head in his hands and sobbed.

They had stormed the Hydra base over an hour ago to only find it was totally empty. They had hunted down every hide-out they knew of, torn it apart, and threatened anyone with death. Tony counted fifteen times in the last two hours that Steve had to pull him off someone wearing a Hydra uniform because they were already broken beyond repair or dead.

And, even with all that, they hadn’t found his children. Tony had lost his kids. His Rebecca; his Eddy. And he simply couldn’t handle it.

There was a knock on the door—well, the wall, as the door was broken on the floor—that drew Tony’s attention up. Steve stood in the door way, looking wide eyed and frantic, though he tried to hold it together.

“Tony—I—you have to—“

“Steve, please, just—“ He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear anything right now. Because—

“No, Tony, _really_ , your kids—“

Tony’s eyes went wide. “My…kids?”

It took him five seconds to get upstairs with Steve following close behind. Even though he didn’t know where he was supposed to go, he simply followed his instincts, feeling his heart beat too heavily in his chest. He was almost afraid what he would fine, because if they were—if—

He almost broke the sliding glass door of the mansion as he came outside. On the patio stood Thor, Clint, and Natasha, all of them just staring at the sight before them, just as Tony was doing now.

On the lawn of the mansion sat Rebecca, Edward, and Loki. Each of them with an ice cream in hand as they dangled their feet into the pool. Rebecca kept trying to splash at Loki with her feet, though they would not stretch far enough to do so, and Loki only smiled, splashing her back. Edward could barely see the ice cream he held over the rim of Loki’s horned helmet, which was currently sitting on his head, sliding around as it was all too big for him.

But they were there. Sitting together, smiling and laughing and _safe_ and—

They both looked up at the same time and their smiles widened.

“DAD!”

They got up from the pool’s edge, running as they did so (Loki’s helmet quickly fell from Edward’s head as he moved), right into Tony’s open arms. He sunk to his knees in relief, hugging both his children tight to his chest, burying his head in their hair and letting out a choked sob; not even caring as their ice cream dripped and melted all over the plates of his armor.

“Oh god, _oh god_ , are you guys okay?” He finally asked, frantically pulling them away to check for any injuries, inspecting them head to toe for any sort of damage, only coming to the conclusion that they were fine.

Edward was giggling as his dad poked at him. “No—daddy, we’re fine—Loki—“

Tony’s head snapped up. He glared up at the God of Mischief, who had gotten up from the pool to lift his helmet from the grass and brush it off. The rest of the Avengers were tense around him, ready to pounce on any given order. Tony snarled, standing up and stepping in front of his children, raising his hand that still held a repulsor ray in his palm. “You—“ He snarled, charging the attack.

“Wait—daddy—“

“Don’t!”

There was a second of hesitation, a blink, and Loki had disappeared in a flutter of shadows and a wisp of smoke.

\---

Later that night, when Tony had finally let his children fall asleep, knowing they were safe and sound, he closed their door silently and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh.

“You know, they were right.”

Tony turned quickly on his heels, already putting his body in between whoever else was in the hall way and his children’s bedroom. An instant later, he relaxed, seeing Thor standing before him. Another sigh left his lips.

“Thor, you really shouldn’t do that to me right now—“

“About Loki, I mean.”

Tony cocked an eye brown up in confusion. “Excuse me?”

Thor looked up at him, then quickly cast his head down in what Tony could only describe as shame. “You’re children, they are right about Loki.”

Tony smiled at Thor, getting ready to let out a short laugh when he looked back and saw that Thor was serious. The smile fell. “Thor, they called him a hero. They said he saved them. That—“

“Loki—my brother— does not hurt innocents. He would never hurt a child.”

“Thor—“

Thor only shook his head, pressing forward. “You do not know Loki’s history. He has had many children. People called many of them monsters, casting them out and throwing them away. They—we—“ Tony could visibly see Thor wince before be continued. “—we tore them away from him. We stole them and hunted them down as he screamed and protested and fought. Even when they weren’t claimed to be monsters, the gods still—“ Again, he saw Thor cast down his head in shame before looking up, directly into Tony’s eyes. “If there is one thing I can say about Loki, it is that he is a good father. If your children were under his protection this night, know that they were in the safest hands they could be, on this world or any other.”

The God of Thunder placed a comforting hand on Tony’s shoulder before taking his leave down the hall. The entire while, Tony watched as he got farther away before disappearing around a corner.

Physically and emotionally drained, Tony stumbled back against the door of his children’s room, falling down to the floor and hung his head low. He closed his eyes tightly and took in a shaky breathe.

Thanking God that his children were safe.

And thanking Loki for being their protector.


End file.
